Today is Barack Obama’s 47th birthday. Happy Birthday, Barack!! Four years ago at this time I finished up a two-month stint on the Gulf Coast of Florida organizing voting registration teams in Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties and headed north to take over the job of organizing Delaware and Montgomery counties in suburban Philadelphia. On my way I stopped in to visit my brother in Washington DC. I was brimming with confidence about John Kerry’s chances. My experience in Florida had shown me that all the momentum was with Kerry and that people were desperately ready for a change. My brother had a warning. In the immediate aftermath of the Democratic National Convention, a new organization had launched a scorched earth campaign aimed directly at Kerry’s military service. They were called the Swift Boat Veteran’s for Truth. I had been driving through the Carolinas when they first made themselves known. My brother was telling me that they would cause a lot of damage. I was too confident from my time in Florida to take him seriously.
It wasn’t just the Swift-Boaters that derailed Kerry’s momentum. Immediately after I left the Sunshine State it was hit by three successive hurricanes. The entire month of August was lost to my organizers, who couldn’t go door to door or stand outside the Home Depot registering voters. Jeb and George Bush were able to swoop in with promises of federal dollars for reconstruction, and the tide slowly changed in Florida.
If I remember correctly, August 5th was the high-water mark for Kerry in the polls. Then he began a slow slide that eventually brought him into a virtual tie. One major difference this time around is that the Democratic National Convention is scheduled a full month later. Another difference is that we will have the distraction of the Olympics during the remainder of August. But the negative attacks have already started and they seem to have eroded Obama’s lead in the national polls. Fortunately, the state-by-state polls still look excellent, but there is cause for concern.
I think the lesson we need to learn from 2004 is that August, despite its slowness for news, can be the decisive month. We need to get to work while everyone else is resting up for the post-Labor Day push.
GET OFF MY LAWN!!
Did you know that John McCain is pushing new “No Child on My Lawn” legislation?
McCain’s security bars black reporter
Tallahassee Democrat senior writer Stephen Price on Friday was singled out and asked to leave a media area at the Panama City rally of presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.
“Access to the senator is tightly controlled,” Block said. “I would first express regret that your reporter was moved, and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that race had nothing to do with it.”
Tallahassee Democrat Executive Editor Bob Gabordi said the incident was unwarranted.”
When a negative attack is launched, counter it.
So, again, why is Obama sitting on his hands with the “black uppity niggers love white women” ad is running and being funded out there? When will he be hitting back on this? Is this the Swift Boat Shitheads ad of 2008?
He stands alone because he wanted all the other groups that could help him de-funded and shut down.
control the campaign message is not a bad idea and allows Obama to take the high road. No Kerry this one.
look to the fall when the economy is dire…an issue McCain will need to address without anyone holding his hand. At the mo, he’s running on fear mongering. Most Americans want to know about bread and fuel – not OBL who has escaped these past 7 years.
Obama’s ground team are out in force. It’s the 1,000’s of little ideas like registration at the gas pumps that give me hope. http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/dames/gG5zsR
Because it can be said that we are always just one swift boat attack away from losing, it’s going to take all of us.
Another difference is that we will have the distraction of the Olympics during the remainder of August.
Um, if I remember correctly the Summer Olympics were in Greece in 2004, didn’t hinder the swift-tards for Bush any.
Obama was nominated and achieved “rock star” notoriety because he promised change to a nation literally dying for change. To keep the momentum going he needed to apply that promise to specific policies and ideas. He’s failed so far to do so and the excitement among his core voters is beginning to waver. The same old generalities are no longer enough. It’s nowhere near too late, but Obama needs to step back and take a fresh look at what he’s saying and forget the damn focus groups and consultants.
I’m beginning to believe that his best shot at a decisive victory would be to name Edwards as his VP. Edwards can deliver the essential populist economic message that Obama thus far seems unable or unwilling to articulate. Somebody’s got to do it.
and Obama is not going forward.
I want to see a little momentum being developed. This requires 1) specific ideas 2) delivered relentlessly and 3) with comparative ads. What is McBush’s idea? Why is Obama’s idea better than McBush’s?
I just see air ebbing out of the tires, and the very powerful Obama machine is just settling into quicksand.
What’s the plan here folks?
go here – the grass roots are not asleep…recall the Yes. we Can done by the group?
This is what boredom does. I found a new toy and made a world cloud of today’s frontpage.